Free the Birdies - The words of Lloyd Glenn

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak today regarding the topic
assigned to me, the importance of Temple attendance. Brothers and Sisters,

throughout our lives we are blessed with spiritual experiences, some of
which are very sacred and confidential, and others, although just as
sacred, are meant to be shared.

"Last summer my family had a spiritual experience that has had a lasting
and profound impact on us, one we feel must be shared. It's a message of
love. It's a message of regaining perspective, and restoring proper balance
and renewing priorities.

"In humility, I pray that I might, in relating this story, give you a gift
my little son, Brian, gave our family one warm summer day last year.

"On July 22nd I was en route to Washington, D.C. for a business trip. It
was all so very ordinary until we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I
collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an announcement was made for
Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United customer service representative
immediately. I thought nothing of this until I reached the door to leave
the plane and I heard a gentleman asking every male if they were Mr. Glenn.
At this point I knew something was wrong and my heart sunk.

"When I got off the plane a solemn-faced young man came toward me and
said, 'Mr. Glenn, there has been an emergency at your home. I do not know
what the emergency is, or who is involved, but I will take you to a phone
so you can call the hospital.

"My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm took over. Woodenly, I
followed this stranger to a distant telephone where I called the number he
gave me for the Mission Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma
center where I learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped
underneath the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that when my
wife had found him, he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who
is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued that treatment as Brian was
transported to the hospital. By the time of my call, Brian was revived and
they believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had been
done to his brain, nor to his heart. They explained that the door had
completely closed on his little sternum right over his heart. He had been
severely crushed.

"After speaking with the medical staff, my wife informed me that our
Bishop and hometeacher were there and were waiting for the doctors to give
them the go ahead to administer to Brian. She sounded worried, but not
hysterical, and I took comfort in her calmness.

"The return flight seemed to last forever, but finally I arrived at the
hospital six hours after the garage door had come down. When I walked into
the intensive care unit, nothing could have prepared me to see my little
son laying so still on a great big bed with tubes and monitors everywhere.
He was on a respirator. I glanced at my wife who stood and tried to give me
a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible dream.

"I was filled in on all the details and given the guarded prognosis. Brian
was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that his heart was
okay - two miracles, in and of themselves. But, only time would tell if his
brain received any damage.

"Throughout these seemingly endless hours, my wife was calm. She told me
that the Bishop had given a blessing so powerful and so reassuring that she
felt that Brian would eventually be all right. I hung on to her words and
faith like a lifeline.

"All that night and all the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed
like forever since I had left for my business trip the day before. Finally,
at two o'clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up
uttering the most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken. He said,
'Daddy, hold me,' as he reached for me with his little tiny arms.

"By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or physical
deficits, and the story of his miraculous survival spread throughout the
hospital. You cannot imagine our gratitude and joy. As we took Brian home
we felt the unique reverence for life and love of our Heavenly Father that
comes to those who brush death so closely. In the days that followed there
was a special spirit about our home. Our two older children were much
closer to their little brother. My wife and I were closer to each other,
and all of us were very close as a whole family. Life took on a less
stressful pace. Perspective seemed to be much more focused, and balance
much easier to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude was
truly profound.

"Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his
afternoon nap and said, 'Sit down, Mommy. I have something to tell you.' At
that time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small phrases, so to say such
a large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down with him on the bed and he
began this sacred and remarkable story.

"'Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well, it was so
heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you couldn't hear me. I
started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then the 'birdies' came.'

"'The 'birdies'?' my wife asked puzzled. 'Yes,' he replied. 'The 'birdies'
made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of me.'
'They did?' she asked. 'Yes,' he said. 'One of the birdies came and got
you. She came to tell you I got stuck under the door.'

"A sweet and reverent feeling filled the room. The spirit was so strong
and yet lighter than air. My wife realized that a three- year-old has no
concept of death and spirits, so he was referring to the beings who came to
help him from beyond the veil as 'birdies' because they were up in the air
like birds that fly.

"'What did the 'birdies' look like?' she asked. Brian answered, 'They were
so beautiful. They were dressed in white, all white. Some of them had on
green and white, but some of them had on just white.' My wife thought this
was intriguing because Brian had no clue what the color green was.

"'Did they say anything?' 'Yes,' he answered. 'They told me the baby would
be all right.' 'The baby?' my wife asked, confused. And Brian answered,
'Yes, the baby laying on the garage floor.' He went on, 'You came out and
opened the garage door and ran to the baby. You told the baby to stay and
not leave.'

"My wife nearly collapsed upon hearing this, for she had indeed gone and
knelt beside Brian's body, and seeing his crushed chest and unrecognizable
features, and knowing he was already dead, she looked up around her and
whispered, 'Don't leave us, Brian; please stay if you can.'

"As she listened to Brian telling her the words she had spoken, she
realized that his spirit had left his body and was looking down from above
on this little lifeless form. 'Then what happened?' she asked.

"'We went on a trip,' he said, 'far, far away.' He grew agitated trying to
say things he didn't seem to have words for. My wife tried to calm and
comfort him, and let him know it would be okay. He struggled with wanting
to tell something that obviously was very important to him, but finding the
words was so difficult. Finally, his eyes alighted on the picture of the
Oakland temple that hangs in the room and he ran to it. 'I went there!' he
shouted. 'There, Mommy,' he pointed to the temple. 'And I went to other
ones like this. There are lots of them. They are everywhere, and I went to
some of them with the 'birdies'. We flew so fast up in the air.'

"To which my wife said, 'That's one of the temples.' 'YES! YES!' he
shouted. 'I went to the temples.'

"'They're so pretty, Mommy,' he added. 'And there are lots and lots of
'birdies' in the temple. Lots of them are in cages and they want to get
out, but they can't by themselves. They need us to let them out of the
cages. Mommy, I have to go to the temple and let them out. They are so sad
and they need me to let them out. Mommy, you have to go there now and let
them out. And Daddy too. And everyone. We have to let them out of their
cages.'

"My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet spirit enveloped her more
soundly, but with an urgency she had never before known. She thought of the
spirit world, the spirit prison to those who have not had saving ordinances
done, and she knew that such spirits were relying on us to do these
ordinances for them. She thought of how Brian had said some of the
'birdies' were wearing green and white, and the significance of that swept
her with longing and understanding.

"Brian went on to tell her that the 'birdies' told him that he had to come
back and tell everyone about the temples and the 'birdies' in their cages.
He said they brought him back to the house and that a big fire truck, a
little fire truck, and an ambulance were there. A man was bringing the baby
out on a white bed and he tried to tell the man that the baby would be
okay, but the man couldn't hear him. He said the 'birdies' told him he had
to go with the ambulance, but they would be near him. He said it was so
pretty there and so peaceful, and he didn't want to come back.

"And then the bright light came. He said the light was so bright and so
warm, and he loved the bright light very much. Someone was in the bright
light and put their arms around him and told him, 'I love you, but you have
to go back. You have to play baseball, tell everyone about the temples, and
slay the alligators.' Then the person in the bright light kissed him and
waved bye-bye. Brian got in the ambulance with two of the 'birdies'. The
ambulance doors closed after the people got in, and he said, 'Then I saw my
beautiful, beautiful 'birdies' waving bye-bye. Then whoosh, the big sound
came and they went into the clouds.'

"The story went on for over an hour. He taught us that the 'birdies' are
always with us, but we don't see them because we look with our eyes, and we
don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But, they are there, and
you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his heart). They
whisper the things to help us do what's right because they love us so much.
Brian continued, stating, 'I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan. Daddy has
a plan. Everyone has a plan. We all must live our plan and keep our
promises. And the 'birdies' help us do that 'cause they love us so, so much.'

"In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part it
again and again. Always the story remained the same. The details were never
changed or out of order. A few time he added further bits of information
that clarified the message he had already delivered. It never ceased to
amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak beyond his ability when he
spoke of his 'birdies.'

"Everywhere he went, he told total strangers that they had to go to the
temple. Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he did this.
Rather, they always got a softened look on their face and smiled.

"Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since that day, and I
pray that we never will be. My wife and I have gone to the temple
repeatedly since then, and always Brian is waiting to hear how many
'birdies' we set free each time we go.

"Brothers and Sisters, of all the messages Brian could have brought back,
he brought this one -- We must go to the temple and free the 'birdies.' I
testify that the things I have shared with you today are true. They are of
sacred worth. They are of eternal consequence to us all and to the spirits
who await the work only we can do for them.

"May we all go to the temple and free the 'birdies' - for this truly is
the Lord's work and His glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal
life of man. I leave you with this message in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Lloyd Glenn

Note: This story has been posted with permission of Bro Glenn. It is not to be distributed freely around the Internet without permission.